Potato starch in recipes
Frumina, potato starch, cornstarch or corn starch, tapioca: these and others are starches, white and impalpable dust veils, which serve to soften many bakery products, thicken creams or sauces and can even be used for external uses, such as natural ingredients in cosmetics and curative beauty products.
Much used in Italy, potato starch - beware, different from potato flour! - can also be found in the new mixes of gluten-free flours on the market, suitable for the preparation of recipes for celiacs.
Potato starch is a valid substitute for eggs, serves as a final thickener in soups and velvety, is an ingredient in custard and hot chocolate, it can also be used to make gnocchi.
Natural and alternative cosmetics are the protagonists of do-it-yourself masks and face creams or dry shampoos for hair with a lot of sebum, even as a home remedy for sunburn and skin irritation.
Let's see 3 simple recipes with potato starch.
Gluten-free pancakes with potato starch
Ingredients
> 1/2 liter of almond milk;
> 100 g of potato starch;
> 150 g of amaranth flour;
> 3 eggs;
> a pinch of salt;
> vanilla berries or a drop of extract;
> extra virgin olive oil.
Preparation
Boil the vegetable milk with the berries and the vanilla seeds or the extract in a saucepan.
Then put the flour and potato starch in a mixer (or in a bowl with an immersion blender), add the eggs and slowly add the milk .
It must be a homogeneous paste, dense and without lumps. Let it rest for a few minutes . Then cook the pancakes in a pan, turning them over after a few minutes.
Serve warm or hot, with the favorite toppings : syrups or natural jams, raw sugar or slices of sautéed apple with cinnamon.
Light potato starch cake
Ingredients
> 4 eggs;
> a pinch of salt;
> a sachet of vanillin;
> half sachet of baking powder;
> 120 g of icing sugar;
> 125 g of potato starch.
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 150 ° C. Whisk the egg whites until stiff ; apart beat the egg yolks with sugar, vanillin, starch and yeast with an electric whisk.
Mix well and combine the two compounds gently.
Pour into a round baking pan lined with baking paper and cook for about 30 minutes at the indicated temperature . Serve sprinkled with icing sugar.
Potato croquettes and starch for children
Ingredients
> 3 medium potatoes;
> a couple of tablespoons of potato starch;
> 2 tablespoons of grated Parmesan;
> breadcrumbs;
> extra virgin olive oil;
> salt.
Preparation
Boil the potatoes in their skins for about 20 minutes, then peel them and mash them in a bowl with a potato masher .
Then add the cheese, a couple of pinches of salt and mix well. Compact the whole and spread it on the pastry board with the greased baking paper covered with grated bread.
With a glass cut circles and make for each of the faces : make the eyes with a straw and cut the mouth with a spoon.
Carry each smiley face on the baking sheet covered with baking paper and finish by angling them with a brush and sprinkling them with more breadcrumbs.
Cook for about 15 minutes in a preheated oven at 180 ° C.
